Zero Mercy rules: stack it, swap it, survive it
The brutal version of the classic colour-and-number card game. Stack draw cards up to +10, swap hands with a 7, and stay under 25 cards or you're out.
On a computer: play in your browser, no download. On an Android phone: get the app.
- Players 2–10
- Deck 168 cards
- Knockout at 25 cards
- Match to 1,000 points
The basics
Everyone starts with 7 cards. On your turn, play a card that matches the top card of the pile by colour or number, or play a wild card and choose the next colour. Can't play? In Zero Mercy you keep drawing until you can. The first player to empty their hand wins the round.
When you're down to your last 2 cards, tap CALL SOLO. If someone catches you holding one card without calling it, you draw 2.
The Zero Mercy cards
Zero Mercy plays with a bigger 168-card deck: everything you know, plus cards that make every turn dangerous.
Wild Draw Ten
The next player draws 10 cards, unless they stack another draw card on top.
Wild Draw Six
The next player draws 6, and you pick the colour.
Wild Reverse Draw Four
Turns play around, then the player now next draws 4.
Colour Roulette
The next player names a colour and flips cards until that colour turns up. They keep every card they flip.
Seven swaps
Play a 7 and swap your whole hand with the player of your choice.
Zero passes
Every player passes their hand to the next player in the direction of play.
Skip Everyone
Every other player misses a turn, so you play again.
Discard All
Throw away every card of that colour from your hand in one go.
Stacking draw cards
When a draw card is played at you, you can answer it with a draw card of equal or higher value (+2, +4, +6 or +10). The total keeps growing and passes to the next player. The first player who can't stack draws the whole pile.
A +2 followed by a +4, a +6 and a +10 means the unlucky player draws 22 cards. That's why the mercy rule matters.
The mercy rule: 25 cards and you're out
Anyone holding 25 cards or more is knocked out of the round straight away, and their cards are shuffled back into the deck. The round goes on with the players left. If only one player is left, they win.
How scoring works
The winner of a round scores the cards left in everyone else's hands. Scores add up from round to round, and the first player to 1,000 points wins the match.
Zero Mercy compared with the other games
Zero Mercy has two gentler cousins on the same site. You choose the game before you join a table.
| Game | Deck | What makes it different |
|---|---|---|
| Classic | Standard colours and numbers | Match colour or number; +2 and Wild +4 make the next player draw. |
| Wild Rush | Every card is wild | You can always play. Skip Two, Targeted +2 and Forced Swap keep everyone on edge. |
| Zero Mercy | 168 cards with +6 and +10 | Stacking, 7 swaps, 0 passes, draw until you can play, knocked out at 25 cards, match to 1,000. |
Questions players ask
Can you stack a +4 on a +2 in Zero Mercy?
Yes. Any draw card can go on a draw card of equal or higher value, so the total keeps growing until someone cannot stack and draws it all.
Can you stack a +2 on a +4?
No. You can only answer with a draw card of equal or higher value, so a +4 can be answered with a +4, +6 or +10.
What happens when you have 25 cards?
You are knocked out of the round at once. Your cards go back into the deck, and the round winner scores 250 points for every player knocked out.
What does a 7 do in Zero Mercy?
Playing a 7 lets you swap your whole hand with any other player you choose.
What does a 0 do in Zero Mercy?
Playing a 0 makes every player pass their hand to the next player in the direction of play.
Do you have to keep drawing if you cannot play?
Yes. In Zero Mercy you draw until you get a card you can play, so a bad turn can be very expensive.
How many points do you need to win?
The first player to reach 1,000 points over several rounds wins the match.
Ready for a round of Zero Mercy?
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